Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has revealed that he hopes to see striker Alvaro Morata shed more tears of joy this season. The Spanish international netted the only of the game during the Blues’ 1-0 Europa League victory against Hungarian outfit Videoton last week.
That was only Morata’s second goal this season from the ten games in all competitions he has featured in so far. The former Real Madrid man has failed to live up to expectations since arriving at the Bridge in the summer of 2017. He was expected to fill the void left by former Chelsea striker Diego Costa, but only netted 11 league goals last term as the Blues finished in a disappointing fifth position despite having won the title the season before.
He paid the price for his lack of consistency at club level as he was not included in the 23-man Spain World Cup squad. The 25-year-old was widely expected to leave Chelsea during the summer transfer window but ended up staying put after the Blues failed to secure the services of a new first-choice number nine.
The Blues have started off life under new manager Sarri well. As it stands, the Blues could potentially launch a title push this season. However, on the other hand, their lack of an in-form forward could also be the difference between them winning major honours or ending up trophyless.
While Olivier Giroud can potentially provide quality assistance and a few goals, it is hard to see the veteran managing to score 15 goals in the league this season. Therefore, if Chelsea wish to win the title, it is important for Morata to find confidence. Speaking after his goal against Videoton, Sarri said, as quoted by Goal: “I’m really very happy for him. It’s very important for him to score, but I think it’s very important for him to play a good match. It’s very important for him to play for the team like he did this evening.
“Alvaro can restart from this performance. He played very well, better than the last period. He has to take confidence from his performance. Sometimes you can score, sometimes not, but the performance is important. He’s a very important player for us. At the moment we have Alvaro and Giroud. We have to play every three days for a long time I think, I hope, so they are both very important for our season.”
It was put to Sarri that Morata looked close to tears after scoring.
“If he wants to cry after a goal, I hope to see him cry very often!”
